When Fate Laughs
by Sasanna Shadowen
Summary: Ranma's life becomes more complicated when new students start at Furinkan High.  Slash/Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

Ranma pulled himself out of the water with Akane's familiar scream still ringing in his ears. It was always the same thing. Akane would become irritated and angry at something he did and the next thing he knew he would be in the fountain dripping with water and in his cursed female form.

Swearing, he wrung the water out of his hair and clothes and stomped back to the dojo to change. He gave the still raving tomboy a wide berth and slipped upstairs to find some hot water so he could return to his own body. Once in the bathroom, he stopped in front of the mirror to contemplate his reflection. Wet clothes clung to and outlined a buxom cute form. He supposed his female half was attractive enough; after all, he had enough admirers chasing it. Smiling bitterly, he reflected on how many people pursued him in both bodies, and yet not even one had taken the time to get to know him. They chased, or groped, or attacked, or quoted stupid poetry, but not one of them simply sat down and talked with him.

Sighing, he stripped and stepped into the shower. The hot water felt wonderful, and he was relieved to feel himself change back to normal. He had become somewhat used to his cursed form, and was very thankful it was human, but he was still far more comfortable as himself. That hadn't stopped him from training secretly in his female body however, in case the old hag found some way to trap him in it again. He wasn't quite at equal skill levels in both bodies yet, but the transition didn't throw him like it used to.

Stretching, he winced as abused muscles protested and knew he would have new bruises courtesy of Akane's mallet and his awkward landing in the fountain. He was getting quite sick of being her personal punching bag and wished he could just hate her, but she wasn't consistent. Sometimes, she was sweet, thoughtful, and helped him out of the scrapes he was always getting involved in. Unfortunately, that never lasted and with little warning, she would change and become violent. One moment she would be smiling, and one tactless comment later she would be pulling mallet-sama out of thin air and he would be gifted with another bruise and headache and wondering yet again why he put up with her.

Shrugging off his musings, he dressed and hurried to school. The day turned out to be even worse than usual, if that were possible. Ryoga had challenged him not once, but twice. Somehow, the Lost Boy had managed to not be turned around and end up in Thailand or Nepal or wherever else he managed to wander off to. Upperclassman Kuno had been even more obnoxious than usual and Shampoo had flattened him with her bike while bringing him lunch. He'd gotten a whiff of one of Kodachi's foul potions, his eyes were still watering, and to top it off he'd failed Mitsuri-sensei's history test.

It was the last hour of school and he was tired, dirty, hurting and just wanted to go home and hibernate. Everything that had happened to him today had happened before, but it was all starting to wear upon him. Everyone he knew, either attacked him or harassed him. Miserably, he sunk lower in the chair and almost moaned as the seat dug into a raw place on his back. It seemed he did nothing but hurt lately, he never had time to heal from previous fights before he was in more.

He stared intently at the clock, wishing he could make it move faster by sheer will power. Reluctantly conceding defeat over the vagaries of time, he let the conversations ranging throughout the room wash over him. From what he could hear, the entire school was abuzz with gossip about new transfer students. The girls in the class were giggling and laughing and trading stories about how cute the guys were supposed to be while the boys were wondering if they were any good as fighters. Ranma sent a brief heart felt prayer upward that none of them knew him or had a grudge. He would be thankful if they just ignored him.

Dismissing thoughts of the new students, he returned to staring at the clock, counting minutes and watching the second hand going around and around. The steady ticking was almost soothing and he relaxed as he waited out the last bit of class. This didn't stop him from being the first out the door however, and he was half way home before anyone even thought to look for him.

He thanked every deity he could remember when he reached the room he shared with his father with no further incidents. He craved rest with an almost alarming intensity. Unfortunately, he would never get it here or anywhere he could be found. Forcing his tired mind to think, he finally remembered the attic and a small deserted corner he had found when exploring several weeks back. Grabbing several blankets and a pillow he headed up there. The cramped enclosed space was filled with junk and dusty but he threaded his way across the floor until he found the deserted corner. After making a pallet, he lay down, curled up and fervently hoped that tomorrow would be better.

His rest had been broken lately with nightmares, tension, and interruptions in the form of rivals and fiancées. His exhaustion, misery, and pain blended and forced his body to shut down. He slept as if drugged and missed the yelling, crashing, and fighting that comprised a normal night at the Tendo Dojo.

Awakening early the next morning, he lay listening to the silence. A peaceful night had restored him somewhat, and with the addition of a hot shower and food, he felt he might even be able to face the day. Also, if he was quiet enough, he could sneak out of the dojo before anyone else woke up. The thought of starting the morning without confrontations, headaches, or fights was enough to make him almost cheerful.

He slid from his pallet and looking down at his makeshift bed, he decided to leave it, as he was sure to need it again. Opening the attic, he tiptoed down the stairs to the bathroom. He felt rather silly creeping around like a thief but he would have walked on his hands and naked if it meant he could get away peacefully. Gently closing the bathroom door, he ran the water until he could see steam rising and then stepped under the hot flow. Blissfully, he moaned softly and turned his face into the heat. The water stung in his cuts but gradually loosened up muscles that had stiffened over night. Twisting and turning he worked as much soreness out as he could. He stayed in the shower, savoring the luxury until he felt the water begin to cool. His smile turned wicked as he realized the rest of the house had cold showers to look forward to.

Stepping out, he toweled himself dry and ran a quick brush through his hair, shaking droplets everywhere. He quickly dressed and braided his still dripping hair ignoring the wet black locks that hung in his face, knowing the morning sun would dry it soon enough.

Gingerly, he swung the door open and almost cheered as he realized there was still no sounds of stirring. Making a quick detour to get his books and to grab some food for breakfast, he headed out the door. The low snick as the dojo door closed behind him was cause for relief as he ambled down the road. Pausing to breathe in the early morning air, he watched the burning orange sun begin to peak over the horizon. It had been a very long time since he had been up this early. Although if it meant that he could get out of the dojo without hassle, he might have to change his late sleeping habits.

He continued strolling slowly along the road, until he reached a large oak tree with a lush green carpet underneath it. Deciding this was the perfect spot to enjoy his breakfast, he settled himself comfortably among the gnarled roots and pulled out the simple food he had taken from the kitchen. It was just rice balls, dried fish and green tea, but it was the best meal he had had in a very long time. He didn't have to fight over it and there was no yelling or screaming going on. Slowly he savored every bite, licking each finger clean afterwards, and with a yawn leaned back into the tree. Closing his eyes, he tilted his face up to the sun and unnoticed his tired body slipped into sleep once more.

o00o


	2. Chapter 2

Unknown to the sleeping boy, curious eyes watched him from a short distance away. Another person had been out in the early morning sunshine and had caught sight of the black haired boy ambling down the road. Drawing back into the shadows had been instinct for the watcher, but it had allowed him to enjoy the sight of the beautiful boy without interrupting.

He had watched as the youth had settled himself into the roots of the tree, wiggling to get comfortable. Normally he wouldn't have spied on someone unless they were the enemy but he couldn't bring himself to interrupt the boy's enjoyment of his meal. He acted as if peace and quiet were a rare luxury. Early shafts of sunlight lit up the tousled black hair and sparkled through a water droplet that hovered at the tip of shaggy bangs until with a quick flick of his head, the moisture was sent flying. The movement revealed a short braid that was quickly tossed back over a shoulder to hang down a slender muscular back.

The watcher moistened dry lips when the meal was finished and each finger carefully licked clean. The movement was incredibly erotic, especially so for being innocently done. The black-haired boy leaned back until he was cradled by the hovering tree and watching blue eyes slid across the planes of a beautiful face that was tipped to catch the sunlight on closed lids.

A slight frown crossed the watcher's lips as the youth slid seamlessly into sleep. Moving a bit closer, he could see dark shadows under closed eyes and the lines of stress on the young face. The yellowish stain of a fading bruise colored the side of one cheek and matched similar ones on bared arms. The combined impression was one of fragility. Which the watcher revised to vulnerability after measuring the strength and muscularity of relaxed limbs.

Slight sounds from further back on the road impelled the watcher to withdraw once again. Turning, he watched as a cheerful girl in a blue dress whistled while she swung down the walkway. Any impression of sweetness was ruined however, when the girl caught sight of the nestled figure asleep at the base of the oak, anger marred the pretty face and a screech that caused the watcher to wince emerged from her mouth.

Interestingly, the watcher noted that the sleeper didn't wake up to the scream normally. He expected the boy to jump and look around confusedly, what he didn't expect was for him to jump straight up and scale several limbs of the tree before he even opened his eyes. He watched as the startled expression on the beautiful face faded to resignation that changed immediately to a smile. The boy's voice when it emerged was cheerful and upbeat.

"Hey Akane, good morning."

The friendly greeting had no appreciable effect on the girl in question who continued to yell. "Don't good morning me, Ranma Saotome. Where have you been? You missed supper last night, which I spent an hour preparing, and breakfast as well."

The watcher noted the boy's name and smiled approvingly when Ranma settled lazily on a large branch answering with a careless smile.

"Sorry, I had something I needed to do."

"Something you needed to do." Akane's voice was imbued with sarcasm and rose with irritation. "And just who were you doing it with, you pervert. You weren't in your bed last night. You were with Shampoo, weren't you? Weren't you?"

Ranma's eyes lost some of their brightness but his cheerful smile didn't falter. "No. I slept alone, just not in my bed. I wanted some peace and quiet for a change."

"Why can't you get peace and quiet in your own bed? Your father was worried sick, he must have cried for hours last night."

A faint glitter of hardness entered blue eyes and the bright smile stiffened slightly. "My father was probably worried that his meal ticket had escaped. He cries when the water isn't hot enough, or the rice isn't sticky enough, or the morning comes too early, or whatever other stupid reason he comes up with. As for peace and quiet in my own bed, what usually happens when you come to wake me in the mornings? I'll tell you what happens." Ranma continued without pausing to let Akane speak, "You barge into the room, scream at me, decide you're mad for some reason, pull your mallet out and knock me through the window and into the outside fountain."

The girl, Akane, was almost incoherent with rage at this point and her face had lost any of its prettiness as it twisted with anger. Watching eyes had starting icing up as Ranma spoke and they glittered dangerously as he saw the aforementioned mallet pulled out of thin air and thrown at the lounging figure in the tree. The watcher began gliding silently towards the girl, only to halt as Ranma nimbly dodged the mallet and jumped out of the oak tree to land on top of the fence that edged the sidewalk. With graceful ease, the dark boy began to run along the top of the iron railing and his mocking voice floated back as he disappeared from sight.

"I hate to dodge and run, but we're going to be late for school."

Baleful eyes followed the fuming girl as she began to run also. Once Akane was out of sight, the watcher slid out of the shadows and swiftly followed in the wake of the other two. He was busy processing the facts learned this morning and he didn't like the conclusions that were being drawn. The boy was tired, bruised, apparently used to being hit by the girl, Akane, and his father sounded useless. The situation bore further investigation.

A cheerful voice broke into his musings. "Hey Heero, hurry up man. The first bell is about to ring."

Looking up, Heero saw his friend Duo at the front gate of the school. Duo was bouncing in place, his entire body vibrating with energy, even his braid was swaying gently as the black dressed boy motioned him in impatiently. Quatre was standing beside Duo, smiling affectionately at the braided baka. Heero felt his own lips twitch slightly at the sight and obligingly moved at a faster pace.

Duo kept pace with him bouncing and talking all the way. "Did you have a good walk? We missed you at breakfast this morning. I hope we like this school better than the one we went to before. Hey, if we ever do get home, do we have to repeat this grade again? I don't think they can transfer records across dimensions, can they?"

Heero and Quatre exchanged amused glances and the blond headed Quatre laughed gently as he reached out to take Duo's hand. "We'll worry about that if it happens, habibi. But I'm sure computer genius here," a quick teasing glance at Heero, "can forge us any documents we need."

The slight frown on the braided boys face brightened back into a smile. "Oh yeah, that'd be cool." And Duo's mouth was off and chattering again.

Silence wasn't regained until they were seated in their first class and Heero felt his attention drift as a calculus problem was discussed. Duo's chattering this morning was as welcome as it had been missed. They had all taken their exile to this alternate world hard but Duo had been the worst. Beneath that laughing exterior had been someone who had taken their duty seriously and the guilt of unintentionally deserting the fight against OZ had nearly broken him. It had taken all of them to keep him reasonably sane, but Quatre had drawn him back from the edge. The blond Arabian had surrounded the nearly suicidal boy with care and affection. A friendship slowly deepened into love, and with a steady foundation to lean upon, Duo eventually released his guilt and rejoined life.

"Yuy-san," startled, he looked up at the sensei's suspicious face as the overly sweet voice continued, "maybe you can tell the class what's wrong with question two?" Low snickers were heard throughout the room. Very few had sympathy for the black haired boy that had been caught staring into space, they had all felt the sharp side of Yomo-sensei's tongue before and looked forward to someone else being the focus of her attention.

Calmly, Heero studied the problem on the board for several seconds and then pointed out the rather obvious miscalculation on the seventh line. He ran the problem through his head quickly and then detailed a second mistake on the eleventh line. Ignoring the silence that fell, he felt a spurt of amusement at Duo's muffled giggle, before returning to his thoughts.

Trowa had for the most part taken the change with his usual equanimity and had been a steadying influence on the entire group, especially the volatile Wufei. The Chinese boy had dragged them from one honorable cause to another for months, almost getting them all killed several times before he had starting calming down. Heero felt his lips twitch as he reflected that the calmness might simply be exhaustion. Trowa's answer to Wufei's rants was to distract the boy by dragging him to the nearest bedroom.

The fact that his four friends had paired off was both surprising and inevitable. They had spent months fighting to put their lives back together, and after the nightmares, tears, fights, and healing, the bond between the five that had been forged in the heat of battle had strengthened and become unbreakable. The relationships among them had shifted but the friendships were stronger for the testing. After nearly a year, they had finally adjusted to being in a new world and enjoyed the chance to be civilians rather than combatants.

Heero was happy that his friends had found soul mates in each other but it left him a bit lonely. When he had been the 'perfect soldier', he would never have allowed himself to admit a weak emotion such as loneliness. He had to be better than human and any weaknesses were to be eradicated. He had reacted to this new world by withdrawing and holding himself aloof from his surroundings and friends.

It had taken nearly six months before the first cracks in his façade had begun. Nightmares that he had thought banished in childhood had returned, waking him up night after night. His broken rest had resulted in irritability and an even shorter temper than usual. He must have snapped at his friends once too often, because one night he suddenly found himself tackled by four bodies and grim, determined faces stared down at him promising he wasn't going anywhere until he told them what was wrong.

He had ranted and struggled but was no match for the other four together. Finally, he had given up and ashamed had confessed his nightmares. That night he had found himself held in a warm embrace and comforting hands were there to soothe him back into sleep when he woke shaking. The arms and soothing hands changed from night to night until finally he was able to sleep alone again. He still occasionally shared a bed with one of the others when the loneliness became too much, but he wanted someone of his own, a soul mate, not just a caring friend.

Unbidden, his mind drifted back to the beautiful boy he had seen this morning. Something about Ranma drew him, a nebulous feeling that the tired boy with the mocking smile could understand him and would believe their fantastic story of crossing dimensions. He was making plans to approach Ranma when the bell harshly jerked him from his thoughts. Sighing he gathered up his books and absently answered Duo and Quatre as they moved to their next class.

o00o


	3. Chapter 3

Cocky smile firmly in place, Ranma stared at the chalkboard in Yomo-sensei's calculus class. It was only the third class of the day and already he had a raging headache. Stress pulled at his temples and throbbed behind his eyes.

"Well, Saotome-san, can you tell us what's wrong with question two?" Internally he snarled at the sweet voice of his least favorite sensei. He was so far behind in calculus that it was almost hopeless and being humiliated almost daily in class didn't help any. His smile stiffened as the sensei's voice continued, "It shouldn't be hard, just this morning one of the new transfer students, Yuy-san, solved it without any problems. If someone who's been in my class for less than a day can answer it, surely you can."

Forcing himself to breathe evenly, he answered. "I don't know the answer to the question, Yomo-sensei."

"Didn't you do your homework, Saotome-san?"

"No. I didn't."

"Why not? Surely you know you're not going to pass unless you do the work."

Ranma swallowed down several hostile and even obscene answers to that sweetly reasonable question. He gave the sensei his own version of a gentle smile and answered slowly and precisely. "I just didn't."

Something in his smile must have warned Yomo-sensei that she had pushed her least favorite student as far as she could without repercussions, because she turned her attention to another hapless boy.

Ranma sat silently working on keeping his indifferent expression intact while internally he was fuming. When did he have time to study? Between fights, training, stupid girls, stupid boys, his father, and Akane he had to hide just to get some decent sleep. However, something was going to have to change soon, only two months into the year and already his grades were low enough that he was in danger of failing the majority of his classes. He couldn't overuse his new hiding place in the attic or he would be found. Maybe he could find several places to hide and rotate among them?

He almost moaned as he realized how far he had sunk. A martial artist of the Saotome School of Anything Goes, 'a man among men' as his father put it, the most sought after person in town, and he was reduced to finding places to hide. Was this really his life? Wasn't there anything else he could do to get a little peace?

He barely heard the bell ring for the next period and still sunk in depression he mumbled an abstracted apology as he bumped into someone at the door. Looking up, he figured it was one of the new transfer students because he didn't recognize the frowning face. The boy was Chinese with sleek black hair pulled into a tight tail at the nape of the neck. The fact that the boy was speaking to him didn't register at first and when it did, he stared in disbelief at the words he heard.

"You were very rude to the sensei, where I come from we have more respect for those of learning. She was trying to help you become a better person."

What? How many pompous jerks were there in this town? And why did he have to meet all of them? Ranma fought a very stiff battle with himself to keep from exploding. He really didn't need anyone else in this cursed town mad at him. And with his luck, this idiot had friends who would take up his feuds.

Very calmly, Ranma bared his teeth in what could have been mistaken for a smile and gritted out, "I'd be very grateful if you'd mind your own business." With that, he brushed past the frowning boy, and stepped around another student with brown hair and slanted bangs.

Stomping out into the hallway, he repeated to himself, 'I am calm, I am calm, I am calm'. He ignored the sound of cracking tiles under his feet and the fact that most of the students were flattening against the walls of the hallway to get out of his way. He reached the doorway of his next class, and took several deep breaths, forcing his breathing into a steady pace until the blood wasn't pounding in his ears any longer. Then he walked in and slumped down into his seat, he shifted until he could find a comfortable position and then couldn't suppress an amused snort that suddenly escaped his control. Maybe he was under more than one curse? Or perhaps he was an idiot magnet? Or maybe Furinkan wasn't really a town, maybe it was an insane asylum and he was there by accident. Although if he wasn't careful, the inmates were going to drive him as crazy as they were. He couldn't really think up any other logical reasons why he attracted so many strange people.

Giving up trying to make any sense of his life, he opened his history book and tried to skim over yesterday's reading assignment so he wouldn't make a fool of himself again. Not that Mitsuri-sensei would humiliate him, but he hated to disappoint her. She was the only sensei he had that made an effort to help. Fortunately, he had a great deal of practice in quickly skimming information, he was almost to the end of the chapter on 16th century politics when Mitsuri-sensei cleared her throat and began speaking.

Looking up, he saw that there were three more new male transfer students at the front of the room. His eyes quickly scanned over a small blond with gentle eyes, a bouncing brunette with a manic smile and stopped at a serious raven-haired boy with piercing blue eyes. Ranma's attention was so focused on the attractive stranger that he almost missed the sensei's introductions. The blond's name was Winner Quatre, the brunette was Maxwell Duo, and the raven-haired boy was Yuy Heero. Ranma flushed slightly as he realized that the boy, Heero, was looking straight at him with a slight smile hovering around delicious lips.

He quickly returned his attention back to his book, only to realize that the name Yuy was familiar for some reason. After a few seconds of thought, he realized it was the name of Yomo-sensei's new pet calculus genius. His tentative attraction was suddenly buried under memories of his earlier humiliation. Dispiritedly, he began reading again and the class went by in a haze. He was gathering up his books to leave for lunch when Mitsuri-sensei spoke.

"Ranma-san, could you stay after class for a few minutes?"

Sighing, he waited as everyone else filed out before approaching his sensei.

"I'm sorry I failed the last test, Mitsuri-sensei, and I should have been paying attention-"

The history sensei interrupted him before he could say any more. "You look tired and depressed, Ranma-san. Is something wrong?"

Blinking, he looked up into caring dark eyes and answered quietly. "No more than usual, sensei."

"I'd like to help if I can. Perhaps if I stayed after school with you, and helped with your homework? My math isn't the best, but between us we could probably figure it out."

Ranma firmly swallowed down tears and graced Mitsuri-sensei with a blinding smile that was as genuine as it was rare.

"Thanks, but I don't want to be a trouble to you. Actually-" Ranma continued slowly, "what I really need is a quiet place to study where I won't be found. All evidence to the contrary, I'm not really stupid."

"I never thought you were," the sensei interjected quietly.

"If I could study in the school library after hours, it would be an enormous help. No one would ever think to look for me there."

Dark eyes studied him for a moment before the small woman walked back to her desk and opened a drawer. When she returned she held out a key to Ranma. "Remember to lock up securely when you leave and my offer to help still stands if you ever need it."

Mitsuri-sensei spent the rest of the day with the image of tired eyes lit with gratitude and a sweet smile upon a usually cocky face burned into her memory.

o00o

Heero and the other four ex-Gundam pilots stared into the chaos that was lunchtime at Furinkan High. All five boys had laughed in the face of danger many times. They had challenged the grim reaper and came out victorious. They had walked the thin line between bravery and suicide. They had valiantly fought outnumbered and hurting when the situation was deemed hopeless. And not one of them was making a single move to enter the high school cafeteria.

Heero stared about him with the sick fascination one would give to a car accident strewn with bleeding bodies. The utter, rampant chaos was mind bending in an almost surrealistic fashion. Maybe they had stepped into an even stranger dimension without knowing it? After studying the swirling activity for a moment, he discarded that theory. Unfortunately, he recognized some of the players upon this stage of unreality.

Dazedly his eyes followed the trajectory of a piece of bread that was being tossed through the air. Or was it being dive-bombed? More bread followed while hungry teens twisted and turned, angling to be the first to snatch the food in mid-flight. Fights broke out and loud curses filled the air.

Suddenly the building shook and part of the side wall collapsed inward with a rumbling roar. When the dust cleared, there was a tiny Chinese girl standing with a bike amid the rubble. She had flowers in her hair and a lunch basket in her hand. What stunned him most of all, was that everyone acted as if this were normal. No one was yelling, or panicking, or asking how that tiny girl had broken down a wall. Everyone just shifted out of her way and went back to what they had been doing.

The girl on the bike yelled out. "Nihao. Where husband? I bring him lunch."

Heero turned back to his companions and without a word between them they all turned away from the cafeteria and quickly made their way outside. Even Duo, the most chaos minded of the group looked stunned. Settling under a quiet tree in the courtyard, they unpacked the lunches they had brought with them.

Quatre summed up all of their feelings very well. "I think this would be a perfect place to eat lunch. Every day."

The little blond's voice was perfectly solemn. He received four quickly nodded heads in response. The group slowly ate, avoiding each other's eyes. It was Duo who finally broke, a muffled snigger emerged to be buried under a cough, and then another, until giggles were shaking his body. Quatre couldn't help sharing his lover's joy and joined into the merriment. Soon all of them were laughing almost hysterically with tears running down their faces. Their snorts of laughter were punctuated with hiccupped comments.

"... awesome food fight."

"could have sworn... duck with glasses..."

"... see the guy... underwear?"

"... the poor husband."

"... girl... taking pictures"

They slowly calmed down and Heero held his aching sides as he caught his breath. Lying on his back on the green grass, he stared at the azure sky radiating gentle warmth. The happy voices of his friends swirled around him and faded into the background.

His thoughts went to Ranma and his disturbing behavior. Heero had been pleased with the stare of the raven-haired boy, and the light flush that stained beautiful features. But then, a frown had marred the boy's face, as he dropped his eyes to his books and slipped into a world of his own. Heero had intercepted a fleeting look of concern from the sensei directed at the distracted boy and had not been surprised when she had asked Ranma to stay after class. He only hoped Ranma had not gotten into trouble, he had a feeling there were enough burdens already on the slim shoulders.

o00o


	4. Chapter 4

Ranma slipped out of the school after his talk with Mitsuri-sensei. He had been thrown off balance by his sensei's concern and couldn't face the normal lunchtime madness right then. It had been so long since anyone had worried about him. Stopping to think, he revised that to no one had ever worried about him. It caused him to smile and a warm tingle to start in his belly.

A rustling noise alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone. Noiselessly, he jumped up a nearby tree and scaled several branches. Crouching down, he stilled and watched, assessing the chances of an ambush. He relaxed slightly as the five new transfer students wandered into view. Their expressions were dazed and blank. With a brief spark of amusement, he realized they must have been introduced to Furinkan High lunchtimes. They didn't look ready to repeat the experience any time soon.

He watched them settle on the grass, take out sack lunches, and begin eating. They were silent as they ate, none of them looking at any of the others. Puzzled, he wondered if this was normal before he finally realized what was happening. The first giggle came from the slender braided boy, Duo, and soon all five of the boys were shrieking with laughter. The small blond, Quatre, had his arms around the braided boy who was laughing so hard he had tears running down his face. The rude, Chinese boy had his face buried in the shoulder of the boy with slanted bangs.

Ranma's attention however, was inexorably drawn to the chuckling Heero. The cobalt eyes were lit and the handsome head was thrown back, causing the sunlight to highlight striking features. Ranma's gaze slid along the length of the muscled, tight frame as Heero lay back in the grass. The green sleeveless shirt and charcoal gray pants emphasized a powerful body that looked as lethal as it was beautiful.

Lethal? Where had that thought come from? Ranma looked closer at the lounging form and discerned a coiled wariness even when the youth was relaxing, and there was a knowing glint in deep ocean blue eyes that spoke of dangerous experience. With a frown, he turned his attention to the others and after observing closely concluded that, they were all dangerous, if not to the same degree as the raven-haired warrior. And warrior he was, unlike the residents of this town who harassed and boasted and threatened death, Heero carried the impression that he not only had threatened death many times but had also carried it out.

Swallowing dryly, Ranma hoped that he never crossed him or any of the others. He was suddenly thankful he had held his temper earlier when the Chinese boy had berated him. With a regretful glance at Heero, he resolved to avoid the five friends if possible. He had enough trouble in his life without adding anymore. Silently, he watched until the students rose and ambled back in the direction of the school. When they were out of sight, he slipped from concealment and reluctantly went to his next class.

The rest of the school day passed without incident and he was thankful the new students weren't in any more of his classes. He almost wanted to hold his breath in fear of shattering the fragile peace of the afternoon. Maybe the confrontation earlier would be the worst this day had to offer. Immediately after that thought, he darkly wondered if he had just jinxed himself.

When the last bell rang, he quickly made his way outside, but there his luck failed him. Akane was waiting on the steps, and by her expression, she was no happier than she had been this morning. Her toe was tapping slightly and her fingers twitched as if she itched to fill her hand and begin hitting. Sighing, Ranma resigned himself to another tirade and hoped she would run out of steam quickly.

Unfortunately, his hope proved futile and Akane in full rant mode seemed likely to continue well into the afternoon. He wasn't even interested in finding out what she was angry about this time. She was probably still upset that he had missed eating her poisonous food last night. Finally, he just detoured around her to walk back to the dojo. He discovered rather quickly that that had been the wrong move to make. Akane latched onto his arm, causing him to wince with the pressure on fading bruises. Her voice was a low growl as she snapped and snarled. But what caused him to finally snap was the familiar and hated word, pervert.

He got so sick of being called a pervert just because of his curse. It wasn't his fault he changed into a girl. Of course, the real reason the slander cut so deep was something else. He thought it was ironic that a guy that had multiple fiancées didn't even like girls. At least he was consistent, as a guy, he liked guys and as a girl he liked guys. He couldn't figure out what label this put him under. Were you bi-sexual if you only liked one sex but changed into both sexes? It didn't really matter, but it was this, along with a fleeting sense of shame instilled in him by his father, that made being called a pervert so painful.

With a snarl, he shook Akane's hand off his arm and glared at the shorthaired un-cute irritating tomboy he had the extreme misfortune to be saddled with.

"Will you shut up! I am not a pervert. I am completely sick of listening to you scream at me. Go find someone who cares and scream at them for a while," Ranma yelled.

Akane's face fell in astonishment and she gaped like a fish. He had yelled at her before but never had he been so harsh. With extreme disgust, Ranma saw jewel like tears begin to form in Akane's eyes and drip down her face. Her chin quivered slightly and she had her hands to her chest like he had mortally wounded her. Well if he had wounded her, maybe she would think twice before throwing hurtful words at him, but he doubted it.

Ranma turned to go, only to come face to face with the Chinese transfer student. The youth's posture was rigid and his face was stiff with disapproval and outrage. With a sick sense of unreality, Ranma knew exactly what was coming.

"How dare you cause this girl to cry! Have you no sense of honor? First, you are sarcastic with the sensei and now you are yelling at a lady. Someone should beat some manners into you and I would be happy to be the one to do it."

The Chinese boy's black eyes blazed with the force of his feelings leaving Ranma feeling tired and bitter. Why was it always his fault? And when did a beating ever instill manners?

With a sigh, Ranma assessed his surroundings trying to determine how many of the bystanders would join into the fight. Fortunately, none of his usual opponents were present. The few people standing around watching were not fighters and weren't likely to join in the battle, with the exception of Akane and the Chinese boy's companion. Hopefully, the brown haired boy with the neutral expression and cautious eyes believed in a fair fight. He was briefly grateful that Heero wasn't with his friends; he wanted a small amount of time to savor the memory of that laughing face before it was replaced with anger towards him.

"So how exactly do you want to do this?" Ranma asked with weary sarcasm. "Doesn't matter to me, but if we're going to fight, you're going to have to start it."

He watched the pale face redden with anger at his flippant words, but he couldn't bring himself to regret them. Without warning, a fist lashed out at his face. Ranma pulled back but was impressed with the other youth's speed; the Chinese boy was as fast as Ryoga. He let the other boy make the next several moves, studying his style, speed, and strength. Jeers were beginning to come from the crowd as he ducked and dodged but Ranma ignored them.

Quickly turning to the side, he barely missed a kick aimed at his face. He was having a difficult time discerning the other's school. The Chinese youth moved fluidly and flawlessly, he had obviously been well trained but a great many of the moves were unfamiliar to Ranma. The puzzle caused him to lose focus for a moment and a fist almost got through to him.

Ranma decided it was time to take the offensive. The next time the boy struck out, he twisted around and aimed a quick decisive blow to the back of the other's head. The move was snake-quick, unexpected and the Chinese boy was stunned into unconsciousness before he could blink. Only Ranma's quick grab prevented him from landing face first upon the ground. Carefully lying the youth down, he moved out of the way as the brown haired boy rushed forward.

Having had enough for the day, Ranma retreated before the boy with the slanted bangs decided to revenge his friend. Akane's attention was also on her downed savior so he was able to slip away unnoticed.

Well, now he had one more person to add to the list of people who had a grudge against him. More likely, he had two, and if the other three were as protective as he suspected, then he had five. He had lost count of the number of people who attacked him on a regular basis.

Stomping along the streets, he muttered imprecations under his breath. Suddenly, a brief wave of dizziness caused him to lean against a nearby building. He'd had little to eat in the past two days and it was finally catching up to him. Food became his next priority as he slowly walked to the nearest café.

Before he could reach it, he tripped over something and landed face down on the sidewalk. Briefly, he rested his head on the concrete, before he heard angry squealing and looked up to see P-chan glaring angrily at him. He slowly climbed to his feet, staring down at the black pig.

"Sorry, man. Didn't see you. What's up?"

Tiredly, Ranma leaned down and picked Ryoga up with one arm while he continued down the street. At least that was the plan, but when he leaned down to pick P-chan up, the pig bit deeply into his outstretched hand and refused to let go. Ranma screamed before he tore the pig from his hand, sending P-chan bouncing off a nearby wall.

"Ryoga, what is your problem?" Ranma glared dangerously at the dazed pig and took a threatening step in his direction but Ryoga quickly darted off down an alley and out of sight.

"Stupid pig. Should have knocked him into next week." Ranma was angry with Ryoga but even more, he was angry with himself. He should have known better than to make friendly overtures to Ryoga after he'd fought with Akane. The Lost Boy defended her fanatically, despite the tomboy barely noticing he was alive unless he was in his cursed form as her beloved pig, P-chan.

Cradling his injured hand, he turned only to be confronted with an unwelcome sight. Winner Quatre and Maxwell Duo. Are they following me? Stalking me? Why is it every time I have a confrontation lately, the new guys show up afterwards to berate me for it? And why do I have the feeling this one is going to end up being my fault too? The sinking feeling was confirmed by the expressions on the faces of the frowning boys facing him.

It was the little blond, Quatre, who spoke. "That wasn't very nice. It wasn't the pig's fault you tripped. And he probably only bit you because he was scared. There was no reason for you to throw him into the wall, it was uncalled for and cruel."

"Yeah, man," Duo chimed in, "it was just an animal, it didn't know any better."

Ranma stared at the two boys, trying to work up some self-righteous anger but he was too tired. Besides, the little blond's eyes were so gentle and he really believed what he was saying. He had no way of knowing that a human's intelligence was behind the pig's animosity.

Finally, Ranma just shook his head. "Never mind. I just can't seem to win with you guys, can I?"

He walked off while the other two exchanged confused glances. Ranma was quite grateful when they didn't follow him. At least he hadn't ended up fighting either of these two. Which was a very good thing considering he felt awful. His hand was throbbing in time with his head and blood was dripping onto his shirt where he had his hand cradled. He was afraid a visit to Dr. Tofu was in order, the wound wasn't extremely serious but he couldn't bandage it himself.

Longingly he stared at the café, before he turned to trudge to the clinic. He carefully watched his feet on the way there. The sidewalk was showing a disturbing tendency to want to trip him and it was taking a great deal of concentration to thwart it. He was relieved when he finally reached the doctor's and sent a fervent prayer to anyone that would listen that Kasumi hadn't been anywhere near the place in days, otherwise Dr. Tofu would be more likely to kill him than help him.

The amiable doctor was in and quickly cleaned and bandaged his wound. The man wanted to talk and Ranma patiently listened as he chattered about the latest happenings around town. A lot of the gossip focused on the new students. It seemed everyone was curious about them and already rumors had begun about a feud between him and the other youths. At this point, Ranma grumpily cut the physician off and started for the door of the clinic.

Dr. Tofu reached out to pat his back, but Ranma, remembering a similar stroke weeks back, dodged him. The touch a few weeks back had caused him to lose all feeling in his legs and he had had to be carried home by Akane, the good doctor wanted to prove what a sweet gentle person she was. And if that wasn't humiliating enough, he had been in an altercation the next day with Kodachi that had nearly resulted in serious injury because of the residual weakness.

With a mild smile, Ranma returned to Dr. Tofu and patted him on the cheek. "Doc, you're a great medic and I like you. But if my legs collapse on me again because of something you did, I'll crawl back in here and break your wrist." He punctuated his comment with another gentle smile before he turned and left.

oOOo


End file.
